


As I Disappear (blink twice)

by screamingintosilence



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: Basically how life in Riverdale would be without Betty's influence, Betty ran away, Black Hood AU, Everything after is noncanon, F/M, FP is still in jail, Gen, I suck at tagging, Jughead is Serpent King, Jughead is still at Southside, Mainly over the phone, Mentions of Violence, Suspense, The Black Hood is still here but hasn't killed, kidnap, post 2x05
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-08-11 19:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20158981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamingintosilence/pseuds/screamingintosilence
Summary: What if after "When a Stranger Calls" Betty disappeared? She thought she was saving everyone she left behind, including herself. But there was a secret she didn't even know she had when she left, and after a slip-up the Black Hood has found her.So she makes three final calls, three desperate attempts for her former best friends and boyfriend to help her. She doesn't have long to live...Everything after 2x05 never happened. Runaway/kidnap AU (I guess)





	1. No Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READER HEADS UP: The only thing that did happen in my story before it happened in the show is that I'm going with Bughead having sex (let's say after the Pop's thing). Ok, now that that's out of the way...
> 
> So after not writing in about two years, I started this story while hammered in a hotel room in Detroit, the night before my uncles funeral (to be fair, I had the idea for this on my 2 hour car ride up to Detroit).  
Please ignore the fact that I haven't finished my ST fics in two years, either :)
> 
> This is unbeta-ed  
Love you all!

The call came at 3:00 pm, 10 months to the day that Betty Cooper had walked out of his life. 10 months since anyone in Riverdale had seen the _perfect girl next door._

The call came at 3:00 pm, with the voicemail following promptly at 3:02 pm after he swiped to deny the call he had long been expecting.

It was 10 months too late. 10 months of stewing and contemplating and denying that he _wasn't_ over her. 10 months since she had sent Archie to him to rip his heart from his chest and obliterate in the mud, only for her to run away from their not-so-sleepy town-of-PEP!

He told himself the healthiest option would be to ignore it, delete it, forget her voice was just a click away from hearing. So he went to the Whyte Wymr, telling himself that even alcohol was a better drug than this. What he wasn't counting on was a frantic Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge busting through the bar doors at 5:00 pm, looking like the world was about to end.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The call came at 3:05 pm, 10 months and 1 day that Betty Cooper had walked out of her life. 10 months since anyone in Riverdale had seen the _perfect girl next door._

The call came at 3:05 pm, with the voicemail following promptly at 3:07 pm after she swiped to deny the call she had long been expecting.

It was 10 months too late. 10 months of stewing and contemplating and denying that she _wasn't_ over her best friend betraying her. 10 months since Betty had stood in front of her and all their friends and claimed she was a selfish and self serving bitch, only for her to run away from their not-so-sleepy town-of-PEP!

She told herself the healthiest option would be to ignore it, delete it, forget her voice was just a click away from hearing. So she went on with cheer practice, convincing herself that whatever Betty had to say could wait for _never ever_. What she wasn't counting on was a frantic Archie Andrews busting through the gym doors at 4:45pm, looking like the world was about to end.

“_Ronnie,_” he was panting as if he sprinted a mile in 4 minutes. “_Have you heard from Betty today?_” Her heartbeat was wooshing in her ears from the tone of his voice alone.

_It was bad. It had to be bad. Archie was witness to what happened the night of Nick’s party and there is no way in hell he would ask such a question unless…_

The blood drained from Veronica's face as she raced over to where she kept her phone during practice.

The fact that even Cheryl Blossom hadn't said a word about Archie interrupting her precious Vixens practice didn't even hit Veronica as she quickly unlocked her phone, scrambling to her voicemail and clicking on that clandestine message from her once best friend.

“_V, I'm so sorry,_” Betty’s voice was faint, sorrowful, and weak, echoing off the now silent gym walls as all occupants stood bewildered. “_For everything. Archie can explain it, I don't have much longer I think. Find her, V. Please. Find her, save her, tell her I loved her. It was all for her. And Juggie... And you… He's going to kill me soon… Save her,_” the line clicked dead and Veronica's phone clattered to the floor from the shaking from her hands.

As she looked at Archie, she saw the same devastation and confusion on her face reflected in his. The only thing that flashed in her mind, through all the words that Betty had spoken that didn't make sense, was “**Jughead.**”

The call came at 3:10 pm, and it was the one day Archie Andrews decided to be early for football practice. It was a call that would change his life forever, one he was both completely torn over not picking up and being glad he didn't so that he had a recording.

10 months had passed since Betty had sent him to destroy his best friend only for his other best friend to immediately disappear. A quick message to him about how she was safe and not to come looking for her came right before her phone was turned off.

The message itself was about 5 minutes long, and he didn't get it until after showering after practice, and as he saw what it was, adrenaline was coursing through his veins.

He clicked on the play message button only to be greeted with a hoarse “_Help… Archie, he found us… Help, you have to save her…_” It was followed by an agonized sob and then the sound of metal scraping concrete, another frantic sob and a low “**Oh Betty, Betty, Betty**” that he could recognize but not place.

Her voice alone had him pausing the message, unable to listen on by himself. He knew they might opposed it, but he needed Veronica and Jug. While there was a chance he was the only one he had contacted with the way things had ended before she had left, he knew they had a right to know.

Archie frantically threw on his clothes before grabbing his bag and sprinting to the gym, where he knew Veronica was still in practice.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Jughead,” was all that Veronica said before grabbing her phone from the ground and sprinting towards Archie. They both took off towards the student parking lot where Archie’s dad’s truck was parked, hopping in and squealing out of the lot at a breakneck speed, not even taking the time to secure their seatbelts.

“Faster, Archie! Can't you make this thing go _faster_?!” Veronica's voice broke as she swiped at the tears falling rapidly down her cheeks.

“I'm trying, Ronnie,” Archie ground out while pushing his foot to the floorboard, flying down the shortcut back road that lead from the high school to the Southside.

“It's not _fast enough_.” She was slamming her hand against the dash is desperation and frustration. Archie reached over to grab her hand in his, squeezing with the little bit of reassurance that he could.

“I know, Ronnie. I know,” he choked out through his own tears, trying desperately to pay attention to the road and where he was going. Seeing the dilapidated sign for Sunnyside, he veered until the trailer park, counting his lucky stars in the back of his mind that the main drag was surprisingly empty.

Archie barely had time to slam on the breaks and put the truck in park before Veronica was launching herself out of it and up the steps, banging with both fists and screaming through her tears. “Jones! Open the goddamn door, Jughead! OPEN! THE! DOOR! You piece of shit!”

Archie reached around her, trying the handle, and as they both stumbled through the door, they didn't register the silence as they started tearing through each of the small rooms.

“Jug! Jug?! Are you here?! We need you!”

“He's not here, Archie. What do we do?” Veronica collapsed to the ground in a puddle of sobbing just as a tall, dark shadow filled the trailer doorway.

“What the fuck are you Northsiders doing in the King's trailer? You can't be here,” a deep voice came from the shadow as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

“Can it!” Veronica screeched before she broke into more sobs, unable to articulate why they were here, and why they were looking for Jughead.

“Hey man!” Archie held up his hands as the guy in the doorway started to take a step towards them, fists still clenched and ready to fight. “We need Jughead, it's an emergency. We don't have time for your shit. Do you know where he is?”

“Boss man doesn't deal with Northsiders like yourself any more. In fact,” the guy squinted at Archie, “I remember you're the one that little bitch sent to break up with him. So I'm really going to enjoy this.” 

“You don't fucking touch him,” Veronica lurched in-between the two boys, glaring up at the taller one in indignation. “Just tell us where the fuck Jughead is.”

“Pea,” a new, feminine voice came through the doorway, adding to the already chaotic atmosphere swirling in the Jones’ trailer. 

“What's going on here?” a petite girl, with pink hair and a presence bigger than her 5’1” would normally convey, demanded as her eyes shifted from cautious and curious to dark and furious once landing on Archie. The same recognition that had flashed in _Pea_’s eyes duplicated in hers. 

“Nothing', Toni. Just some preppy Northsiders lost their way,” the guy gruffly stated, looking slightly put-out at Toni’s appearance that Archie was sure ruined his fun.

“We need Jughead, have you seen him?! It's urgent, it's about Betty,” Veronica, wild look still her eyes, turned to Toni in a desperate attempt to speed along their search.

Throwing up a hand to keep the Latina from approaching her any further, Toni’s eyebrow arched in disbelief. 

“Ok, first off, back _off_ Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Secondly, Jug doesn't want to see you, any of you. Especially you,” she turned her finger pointedly at Archie. “And in any case, if this has to do with Miss Priss, you can count him out. She thought she was too good for him and the Southside and _now she needs his help_? Get real,” Toni rolled her eyes with a huff.

Veronica looked like she was going to break down into another puddle of tears and Archie knew they were running out of time.

“Look,” he started pulling at the roots with both his hands. “Betty sent me to break things off with Jug because the Black Hood was stalking her and threatened to kill Jughead unless she cut him out of her life. He made her do the same thing with Veronica,” his arm swooped to indicate the raven haired girl next to him who was staring at him in horror, finally learning the truth to Betty’s actions all those months ago. 

“And that’s why she ran away 10 months ago, to try and escape him. She texted me she was safe and I haven’t heard from her since.” He paused to breathe as he had spoken as fast as he could, looking on as three pairs of wide eyes stared back at him in shock.

“Until today, when both Ronnie and I got calls from her - and I’m 100 percent sure Jughead probably did too - and she’s in trouble,” he slapped him hand palm side up into the palm of his other hand, hoping to convey the brevity of their situation. “She didn’t say it was the Black Hood, but I would bet the entirety of my dad’s construction business that it was. _And we need to find Jughead like yesterday!_”

Jaw slacked faces gazed back at him, trying to process the magnitude of all the Archie just told them. Getting frustrated, he pushed past Toni and Pea, grabbing Veronica’s arm and dragging her out of the trailer to the truck, hoping inspiration to Jughead’s location would pop into his head.

“The Wyrm. He’s at the White Wyrm!” Toni yelled while sprinting down the trailer steps after them. “Follow us!” she darted to the yard over where there were two motorbikes waiting, Pea hot on her heels.

Revving the engine and peeling out after the two young Serpents, Archie vaguely registered Veronica in the passenger’s seat wringing her hands and pulling at the ends of her hair.

“Fuck!” she slammed her hand on the dashboard, causing Archie to swerve with the unexpected exclamation. “Fuck, why didn’t she say anything?!”

Realizing that Veronica was still processing the news, Archie reached over with his right hand. “Ronnie, she wasn’t supposed to. The Black Hood threatened _your_ life. You’re her best friend, she would never put you in jeopardy like that. Hell, he even threatened _my_ life, and hers, for telling me. If I didn’t push so much, she might have been able to cut me out too.” He paused, feeling Veronica squeeze the blood from his hand.

“She did cut me out. She ran away, but at least I knew why. Fuck,” Archie slammed his own hand on the steering wheel, “I just wished she told me where she is! Then we could find her so much easier.”

They were pulling into the parking lot of the Wyrm at top speed, causing Archie to slam on the breaks and swing the truck around so they didn’t hit anybody.

Once again, they scrambled out of the truck, Archie barely taking any time to turn of the engine. They sprinted through the doors of the iconic Southside bar, Toni and Pea hot on their heels.

With wild eyes and even wilder hair, they locked eyes with a slouched, dark figure, beanie on the bar next to him.

“Jug!” they both let out in unison, slight relief coloring their adrenaline filled tones.

“Jug,” Archie raced up to him, placing his hands on either shoulder, forcing the brooding teen to look him in the eyes. Ignoring the several Serpents who started to come towards him for putting his hands on their leader, Archie gave Jughead a shake. “Have you heard from Betty today?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuunnnnnnnnn :)  
Always a sucker for a cliff hanger  
Please comment below on your thoughts, if you feel so inclined! I love any and all feed back!


	2. And In Their Triumph Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work is un-Beta'd so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“_Have you heard from Betty today?_” the words rang hollow in his ears. _Have you heard from Betty today? Have you heard from Betty today?_

His gaze was empty and unseeing as he stared back at his former best friend, vaguely registering a fellow Serpent shoving Archie away from him, brandishing a switchblade.

It felt like everything was coming in through a fog, cotton filling his ears, his brain trying to catch up to everything that was happening.

_Have you heard from Betty today?_ It twisted the knife that had resided in his gut everyday for the last 10 months. _Have you heard from Betty today?_

His brain started working double time just as he saw Toni shoving Mustang back with a sneer, hearing her give the order as his second-in-command. “Stand down, these Northsiders are with us.”

“They don't belong here,” Mustang growled at the younger Serpent. “You know how Jones feels about them preppy trash.”

Ignoring what was happening between the two gang members, Jughead felt a rage take over him as Archie's words finally started to untangle themselves in his mind. 

Shoving past the two arguing in front of him, he pushed Archie into one of the bar’s wooden support beams, pressing his forearm heavily across the redhead’s collar bones. 

“_Have I heard from Betty?_” He sneered inches from his former friend's face. “Have _I_ heard from _Betty_?! Have I heard from the cold hearted bitch? Is that what you're asking, _Andrews_?”

“Jug, man, you gotta listen-”

“Ha!” the mocking laughter rang out in the now silent Serpent den. No one dared to move a muscle seeing the younger Jones’ man in a state of anger for the very first time. His actions were unpredictable to everyone around him, even to himself.

Pulling his switchblade from his back pocket, he stabbed the point into the beam next to Archie's temple as a vicious warning. “Last time I listened to you, it didn't turn out so well for me _Arch_,” emphasizing his name with a snide grimace and squinted eyes.

Jughead felt a tug on his leather and the soft voice of Toni. “Jug, this is serious. You need to-”

“I need to _what_, Tiny?” He snapped his head to look at the shorter girl will all the malice that was coursing through his blood.

Veronica, who has been quite through the entire exchange since they had walked in, had finally had enough. “It's the Black Hood, Jones.” The Latina pushed through everyone until she was standing next to the gang leader, pulling herself up to her full height and glaring right back at him.

“_What?_” he hissed over the murmurs, panic squeezing his heart as several Serpents gasped the mention of the notorious Riverdale killer.

“_We think_,” Archie breathed out, “well, ok,it’s a long story, but basically the entire reason Betty ran away is because the Black Hood was contacting her.”

Several _Oh shits_ were heard, several pairs of eyes went wide, and Jugheads grip on Archie loosened as it felt like his stomach dropped like a rock.

“_What the fuck do you mean?_” he gasped out through his tightening throat.

“Do you remember that cipher?” Jug nodded. “That wasn’t his only communication with her. We don’t know how, but he somehow got her number and started calling her.”

Jughead’s arm dropped as he took several steps back, looking at Archie with eyes blown wide. _Why didn’t she say anything?_

“She wasn’t allowed to say anything to anyone about it,” Archie responded to the question in Jughead’s eyes. “He threatened her, told her he would kill Polly if she said anything. He was watching her, Jug.”

The young leader felt like he was about to hurl his lunch onto the floor.

“The day before I was sent to you, she made a mess of things with Veronica,” the girl was still standing next to the two of them, looking at the floor while swiping at the tears falling down her cheeks. “She didn’t tell me before, but I confronted her in the Blue and Gold office the next day and she told me how he threatened to _kill_ Veronica if Betty didn’t cut her out of her life.

“And then,” the redhead paused, rubbing the nape of his neck, trying not to let the memory of Betty’s devastated face overcome him. “And then, she told me that he was about to kill _you_, Jug.”

Several other Serpents covered their mouths in shock as Jughead fell into an open chair he didn’t even know was behind him, floored at what his former best friend was telling him.

_She was trying to protect him. This whole time, Betty was trying to protect everyone._ He scrubbed his face, struggling to maintain even a semblance of composure.

“She couldn’t bring herself to do it in person, she knew that you would see right through her and that would only spell devestation for the both of you.” Archie looked to the ground sheepishly. “She had told me to be gentle when I did it.”

That caught Jughead’s attention, causing him to push himself out of the chair, once more getting into the other boy’s face. “You call that gentle?! What you did was a complete dick move more than it already was!”

“I know, I know,” he threw his hands up in a defensive gesture. “I let my emotions overcome me, especially when they showed up,” his hand waving to the younger Serpents in the crowd. “I’m sorry, Jug. I’m so sorry, I just let what I said spiral out of control and I figured that I’d kinda kill two birds with one stone. I could take care of what Betty needed while shaming you from joining the Serpents. Obviously that backfired,” Archie looked so guilty that Jughead had to turn away from him to keep from doing something violent, remind himself that Betty was in trouble, the whole reason that Archie and Veronica were in the snake pit.

“Ok, look,” Veronica interjected, once more shoving herself between the two. “Jughead, I get it. You’re angry and hurt, so am I. We can go over this a million different times, a million different ways, but the bottom line is that Betty is out there,” her finger was precariously close to digging into his chest. “Betty is out there, and _someone_ has her, and she is in danger. She called the three of us, that has to mean something! She’s running out of time while we are having this come-to-Jesus moment that we _don’t. Have. Time. For._” Her finger jabbed into his sternum with each of the last words.

“Ronnie’s right,” Archie blew out a breath. “She called the three of us, who knows if she called anyone else. But we need to do what we can. We need to listen to these messages and hopefully she gives us something so we can find her.”

“So we can save her,” Veronica admonished.

“So we can save her,” Archie nods in agreement.

Jughead breathed in sharply, the pain in his chest tight like a vice, as if a python had wrapped itself around him and was squeezing tight.

“There’s an office in back, let’s go,” he turned on his heel, not waiting to see if the two of them were following. “Toni, Sweet Pea, you’re with me. Everyone else, sit tight” he tossed over his shoulder. It was all he could do to keep his composure.

Once they made it to the manager’s office, Jughead gestured to the rest to file inside and asking Sweet Pea to stand guard at the door. The taller boy nodded in affirmation, pulling the door closed as Jug entered the room. Jughead glanced at the outline of his fellow gang member through the frosted glass window before turning to face three pairs of burning eyes.

Veronica took charge of the situation, impatient to start so they could find Betty as soon as possible.

“Archie and I have already listened to the voicemail left for me, so we’ll start there. She called Archie after she called me,” Veronica had checked his phone while in the car, noting the time of Betty’s message. “What time did she call you?”

Jughead glanced at his call log quickly, “3. Exactly at 3.”

“Ok, so mine, yours, then Archie’s,” she nodded as if talking to herself.

The three of them lined up their phones on the oak desk as Toni stepped up to fill out the fourth side of the desk.

Jughead braced his hands on the back of the desk chair before looking up and nodding silently to Veronica to hit play.

“_V, I'm so sorry,_” Betty’s weakened voice came once again through the speaker of Veronica’s phone, hitting her and Archie just as hard as the first time. Jughead’s knuckles turned white wear they gripped the wood at how pitiful she sounded.

“_For everything. Archie can explain it, I don't have much longer I think._” He felt like he had been punched in the gut and he saw Toni’s hands fly to her mouth at how scared and resigned Betty sounded.

“_Find her, V. Please. Find her, save her, tell her I loved her. It was all for her. And Juggie... And you… He's going to kill me soon… Save her,_” his eyes squeezed shut at the fear her voice conveyed and he fought down the nausea threatening to over take him.

“Who is her?” he heard Toni ask from beside him.

“We don’t know. As far as I knew, she ran away by herself. It could be Polly, since that was one of the people the Black Hood was threatening, but who knows,” Archie responded.

“We can think about that once we’ve heard everything,” Veronica brushed off.

Jughead took slow, deep breaths before opening his eyes. Locking gazes with Veronica once more, he nodded again to signal her to play his message.

“_Juggie,_” he whimpered slightly at how she sounded barely there. Her voice faint and weak almost brought him to his knees.

“_I love you. I want you to know that. I will always love you. I don’t have much time, he’s coming back soon and my battery is almost dead, but I was hoping to hear your voice one last time,_” he pushed off the chair, turning away from the other three with his hand covering his mouth in hopes to keep in the sobs that were threatening to escape as he thought of how he let her down.

“_She’s so beautiful, Juggie. You need to find her, please. I don’t know what he’s going to do with her._” Her words broke out in a sob, a sound so pitiful that he heard Veronica echo it in pain of the unknown fate of her best friend.

“_Tell Archie I’m sorry for how this all fell apart, everything we worked so hard for.._” Her voice paused, scaring Jughead briefly that that’s where her call would end, until she picked up again. “_It’s my fault, I messed up and he found me. It’s all my fault._”

Somehow his broken heart felt like it was shattering even more.

She hesitated on the recording once more before saying “_I love you. Ask Sabrina for help. Find her,_” and then the line went dead.

Jughead lunged for his phone, wanting to replay the message and hear Betty telling him that she loved him again, the sweetest words he had been missing desperately these last 10 months, as much as he had tried to tell himself that he didn’t. Archie gripped his arm, stopping him short.

“We have one more message,” the other boy reminded him, his eyes portraying the worry that was reflected in all the other eyes in the room.

Jughead squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a resigned sigh before nodding his head in agreement for them to move on. They needed to know everything Betty deemed important to tell them so they would be able to do everything they possibly could to try and reach her before it was too late.

He felt Archie let go of his arm and heard him blow out his own breath.

“I started listening to this one before I went to find Ronnie,” Archie confessed to the group, pausing to think of how to tell them. “It's bad guys. Really fucking bad.”

Without expounding further and wasting more time, Archie hit play on his phone and the four of them huddled once more over the desk, scared to miss a word and scared to hear what Betty had to say.

Her hoarse tones once more broke the silence in the room. “_Help… Archie, he found us… Help, you have to save her…_” her agonized sob overtook her words as metal scraped concrete, the sound setting Jughead's teeth on edge.

Another terrified sob was heard as deeper, menacing tones followed. 

“_**Oh Betty, Betty, Betty,**_” the male voice chided. Veronica and Jughead came to the same conclusion that Archie had earlier, the voice sounded familiar but neither of them could place it.

“_Please,_” she whimpered.

“_**You slipped up, Betty. You went 9 months evading me,**_” her quiet sobs were her only response to her captor’s taunts. “_**Did you really expect to be able to check yourself into a hospital under your real name and have me NOT find out?!**_” His laughter ran chillingly down the spines of the four teens listening.

Betty’s weeping grew louder as she pleaded with who they were assuming was the Black Hood, “_Please, where is she? What have you done with her?_”

“_**You mean the spawn of Southside scum? Really, Elizabeth, she should be disposed of.**_” Jughead’s breath caught, who was he talking about?

“_NO!_” Her voice broke as she screamed the denial. “_She’s innocent, you bastard!_” They could hear her sniveling, trying to talk through her tears. “_You have me, what more could you want? Just let her go, please._”

“No, no, no! Betty!” Jughead’s fist slammed down on the desk as the other three quickly shushed him so they could hear the rest of the exchange.

“_**Why Betty, I never wanted to kill you. No, you were meant to join me on this glorious mission to rid Riverdale of sinners. I thought you were doing so well and then you decided to pull your little disappearing act on me,**_” the sound of a boot connecting with something metal and the horrid sound of metal on concrete once more resonated through the speaker as Betty screamed in fright. "_** Well, that wasn't very nice.**_"

“_What are you going to do with me than? Kill me? Juliet needs me!”_

“_**You’re a disgrace to me, and she doesn’t need you, you whore.**_” Jughead’s fists turned white from how hard he was clenching his hands. 

“_**She might have tainted blood, but she is going to become everything that you failed to become. She will be my greatest masterpiece. It might take a few years, but I’m willing to wait.**_” Whoever this _Juliet_ was, she must be young if the Black Hood was planning on grooming her to his bidding. 

“_**As for you, Elizabeth, a quick death would be a mercy, I think. No, I much rather let this drag out, let you live with the knowledge that you can’t save the most important thing in your life from doing what you refuse to do.**_” His sinister cackle once more reverberated in the office.

“_GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER!_” Betty screamed with what little strength she had.

Jughead's knees finally gave out as the puzzle pieces fell into place and realization of who _Juliet_ was to Betty (_and to him_) hit him like a freight train.

He vaguely registered the sound of Veronica’s muffled cries, Archie’s _Oh shit!_, and Toni’s _Holy fuck_ through his haze.

The sound of scuffling, a few thuds, and Betty’s agonized shriek blasted over the tiny phone speaker.

There was another thud and then a high-pitched, bone-chilling scream pierced through the fog clouding Jughead's mind.

“_**You stupid, worthless bitch. Just like your mother.**_”

There was a distinct noise that the four could only decide must have been spitting before Betty let out a low wail and said the words that had Toni running to the waste basket to puke.

“_Daddy. Please, daddy._” Another whimper. “_Daddy, please don't hurt her._”

A metallic clang was the last thing heard before the line went dead.


End file.
